Lex expels student who took gun to football practice

LEXINGTON – The 15-year-old boy at Lexington Schools who took a loaded gun to football practice last month has been expelled, according to Lexington Schools Superintendent J. Michael Ziegelhofer.

Ziegelhofer said he held the expulsion hearing Friday and notified the boy’s father today that the expulsion is effective for the entire school year. The student will be permitted to return to Lexington Schools on the first day of class of the 2015-16 school year, Ziegehofer said.

Police received a call at 7:23 p.m. Aug. 20 from the football coaching staff. During practice, a student told staff that another student may have brought a gun to practice, police said. Upon checking, staff found a loaded handgun in a backpack belonging to a student.

Today, Lexington police public information Officer Andrew Smallstey said the student was charged with illegal conveyance of a firearm into a school safety zone. No additional charges have been filed.

After being taken into custody without incident, the student told police the weapon was for protection only.

Smallstey said the student brought a Ruger P-90, which is a .45-caliber handgun, onto the schools grounds.

“The young man just moved into our district from a neighboring district,” Ziegelhofer said earlier. “He was not participating in football. He was interested in playing, but did not have all the requirements completed yet and was at practice observing.”

The 15-year-old boy enrolled in the district Aug. 19.

Ziegelhofer said the boys on the team overheard a conversation about a weapon in a backpack and told staff.

“Our head football coach and his staff handled it perfectly and our kids handled it perfectly,” Ziegelhofer said. “We tell them if you see something, tell someone. We harp on it and the outcome we had is because those kids were willing to do something right.”

Ziegelhofer said he and coaches met with parents and players the day after the incident.

The police incident report was filed by football coach Taylor Gerhardt.

The News Journal filed a public records request with Lexington police for additional information about the incident. Smallstey said the request will be honored when the investigation is completed and turned over to the News Journal by Richland County juvenile prosecutors.